Author:Dr. İlker Güçlü Latest update:17 October 2026
Every organization needs an inventory management process that keeps inventory investment at a reasonable level while maintaining customer service levels.
To learn more about inventory management basics, click here.
Many factors affect inventory levels. Demand uncertainty, lead time and its variability, minimum order quantities, shelf life, the number of products, and a multi-location distribution network all make it difficult to hold the right stock in the right place.
Inventory management aims to build a deliberate and measurable balance between service level and inventory investment.
To design inventory management correctly, the relationship of inventory decisions with demand planning, purchasing, production planning, and logistics processes must be defined clearly.
Decisions made in inventory management can generally be examined on three levels:
Success in inventory management depends on inventory analysis and segmentation, service level targets, and safety stock and replenishment parameters being designed correctly and updated regularly.
There are some fundamental practices valid for every organization in inventory management. Standard methods can be used especially in classifying inventory and in safety stock calculations.
However, how inventory policies should be designed, in line with product- and supplier-specific characteristics, the structure of demand, lead time variability, the distribution network, shelf life and constraints, and assumptions about the future, is a subject that needs to be evaluated specifically for the organization.
These and similar factors and priorities necessitate the 'bespoke' or 'tailored' design of inventory management processes within the organization.
The flow of inventory management, tasks and responsibilities, analysis methods, and auxiliary tools will vary from one organization to another.
The scope is determined according to the organization's current situation and priorities. The main areas of work are as follows.
The work is completed with process definitions, responsibilities, and a review calendar so that parameters can be updated regularly within the organization.
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Optimum Planlama offers consulting services to design tailored inventory management processes and to develop related analyses.
We recommend starting with an in-house workshop to instill an inventory management perspective and align relevant departments and staff.
Our inventory management related training and workshop topics include:
Classify inventory and optimize inventory quantities and costs.
Build reliable systems for supplying materials to production and customers.
Learn forecasting processes, methods, and analyses through hands-on applications.
Build the balance of demand and supply with competitive tactics and consensus.
“It was a very enjoyable training. It was an environment where I felt that new information was added to my knowledge.”
“The training was a useful and comprehensive training with the end-to-end integration of the S&OP process into the supply chain, explaining each step and explaining the roles and responsibilities in these steps.”
“It was a training that we enjoyed very much with the knowledge and experience of my teacher İlker, his detailed explanation with examples and the discussion environment together.”
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For Inventory Management consulting, please contact us or submit your quote request.
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